Everlasting Agony

Chapter 4

        "It's fairly simple, all you have to do after you vote, is put on this mask and pretend to rob me of my identity papers, that prove that I am a male, so I can have an excuse not to have them but still vote," she said with conviction laced in her voice, pressing the mask in Emmett's hand. He frowned but listened attentively.
       "After you 'rob' me, the sheriff would obviously pursue you, so you just have to run to the bridge, where Damien will be there with extra clothes so you can change your disguise," she said, glancing around. She had that same look on her face that she always had when she was planning something.
       "Damien agreed to this?" he spoke, bewildered. "Well of course. He is, after all, as mad as I am," she grinned. Emmett sighed. "Do you have a back up plan? In case your plan fails?" he questioned, unsure of the outcome this plan would bring.
       "Of course, do not worry," she said, brushing him off. She tilted her head to the side, one side of her mouth turning up in a small smile, it was a habit of hers that Emmett had noted, something she did when she was really seriously about something.
       "Alright then, let us begin," he confirmed, strolling towards the voting pool. He reached in one stride and gingerly handed over his papers to the poller, before scribbling down his vote and inserting it into the dusty box. He glanced sideways at the sheriff. The sheriff was a muscular, middle-aged man.
       Emmett instantly felt guilty when remembering the many times in his childhood, where his father would never return from his trip, abandoning him in the desolate, empty manor. The sheriff was the one who paid him daily visits, to make sure he was eating and kept him company. And as Emmett knew of his slightly ailing health, it worsened his guilt that he was about to make him run after an imaginary criminal.
       He brushed the dust grimly from his hand as he walked to the side, to wait for Elizabeth. At that moment, he felt someone's eyes burning at the back of his head, he turned around but saw no one. Right as he was about to turn back, he saw it. The shadow. The same one that has been following him for weeks. He had never been able to get a glimpse of the person's face. Knowing he would be unable to spot the shadow again, he turned back to watch Elizabeth.
        She sauntered over to the pool, mimicking the demeanor of a confident man. Oh, she was good. Really good. She could have fooled him, if he didn't know better. He felt a surge of pride swell up inside him. She was amazing, and she was his friend. He took in a shaky breath before taking of his coat and placing his mask on. Fortunately, the shirt he wore inside his coat was unseen and would not be recognised, when he tried to 'rob' her.
       He was positively tingling with anxiety and a tinge of excitement. He swallowed down a gulp before racing up to Elizabeth and snatching the 'documents' in her hand. He felt adrenalin pump through his veins as he heard a chorus of shouts and a melancholy of footsteps trailing behind him. He slowed slightly, to let the sheriff catch his breath, before continuing his race to the bridge.
       He just had to make it to the bridge before the footsteps caught up. His heart pounded against his chest as he sped through the woods.  Just then, he was seized with a violent cough. He vehemently cursed his luck. His Tuberculosis just had to inflame his lungs now. He slowed slightly to catch his breath. He ducked behind the side of the bridge, trying to not soak his trousers from the river that lay under the bridge.
       "Damien?" he whispered, still wheezing from the after effects of his Tuberculosis. "Damien!" he said, voice raised one pitch higher when there was no answer. He placed one hand on the side of the wall to steady himself. His eyes darted back to the woods, intensely scanning that area for signs of the sheriff. "Looking for me?" a voice came from behind him, startling Emmett.
       He spun around and came face to face with Damien. He huffed a sigh of relief before bursting out laughing from the exhilaration. The corner of Damien's mouth turned up. With a glint in his eyes, Damien passed Emmett the clothes he held in his hands. Emmett gripped the clothes in his hand. It was dark, but in the wet underside of the bridge, he could still see the summer of raindrops on the smooth leaves. Somewhere in the distance, the croaking of a frog drilled through the fluid stillness.
       He could barely make out the silhouette of Damien's frame at first while his eyes adjusted. Shadows danced on Damien's face, making him seem ever more alluring. Damien stared at him. "We should probably return home," Emmett pointed out. But he didn't seem to be able to will themselves to move, and neither did Emmett.
       The realization of how close they were standing struck Emmett. Even in the dimness, he could see clearly Damien's raven-black hair as the wind ruffled through it and the pulse in his throat beat, steady but fast.
       He took in a shaky breath when Damien leaned in slightly, Damien's eyes visibly darkened and Emmett could also see a tinge of vulnerability he rarely saw from Damien, occupy his eyes.
      Damien's gaze grew more intense, but there was a sense of uncertainty in them. Emmett was cetain his heart was beating as fast as a sledge hammer and he was acting completely on instinct when take a step toward him. The thick atmosphere was almost suffocating. There was no one else under the bridge and is narrow entrance blocked the view from the outside. Damien's face was all angles in the darkness: sharp cheekbones, soft mouth, and those emerald green eyes.
       "Emmett," Damien said, his voice was hushed and quiet, lowered to merely a whisper and his voice was rough. "I think-" he was cut off by the sudden footsteps that sounded on the bridge. The loud sound caused Emmett to jump, and leaped away from Damien as if his touch burned him.
       Damien moved in front of Emmett to block him from view. The footsteps passed as fast as they arrived and the atmosphere fell back to comfortable silence. Whatever Damien was about to say, he seemed to have forgotten because he shrugged with a laugh and said, "Come along, Emmett. Let's get you back home, I doubt you want to stay here for long," he went on,"It does smell like garbage here."
       Emmett could swear, that at that moment, he saw Damien's carefully worn facade drop and his expression was filed with confusion, apprehension and the same vulnerability that was exposed on his face moments ago.
       The walk home was silent, filed with side glances at each other that both ignored. Emmett's thoughts were racing. He had absolutely no idea what had happened under the bridge. There was a weird nagging feeling in his stomach that grew more and more intense. He had no idea what to do. Whatever had happened between them under the bridge, seemed to have robbed their speech because neither of them knew what to say. They reached his home faster than he expected but Emmett was just relieved. He needed time to think, to be alone. He knew one thing, which was that whatever he felt was wrong and disgusting.
       He couldn't sleep that night because thoughts of him kept taunting him, plaguing every corner of his mind. 
       Whereas Elizabeth, carried out her scheme perfectly.
       She was saturated with happiness and walked home with a smile plastered on net gave, oblivious what she had started. Of course, she checked if Damien and Emmett returned home safely, but she had no knowledge of what had transpired under the bridge that day.
       Things returned to normal, mostly. Other than the occasional lingering glances betweeno the two, they simply pretended as if that moment under the bridge never occurred. Especially in front of Elizabeth.
       They carried out what they always did. There were no awkward pauses, and it was almost as if nothing really happened at all. They talked. About people in town, about anything they could think of. But not about them, just other things. By the time that one month had passed, Emmett really believed that things could be the same. That they could go on as they always had. As best friends. They would always be the best of friends, but now there was something more. Something growing, and no amount delusion and pretense would erase that. But for now, they were content with pretending.